I got me a welder to put together my 66. I will be using a Linde mig welder. I also found a guy who sells Dynacorn sheet metal 10 miles from my house. any tips for a frist timer. any thing I should lookout for

Sounds like a plan. The only tip i can give you right now is TAKE YOUR TIME, and measure TWICE cut ONCE. Just look at eveything carefully so that you know how it went together. So ill recap some points:

1. Take your time
2. Measure TWICE cut ONCE
3. Observe, observe, look at how it went together.
4. Take pictuers they help you alot
5. If your taking fenders off for example ( put bolts in baggies labeled )
6. Any welding MUST .. MUST be clean metal
7. Do not remove to much (structural integeridy) when i did the trunk in my 69 i took way to much out making it very difficult to get things to line up (lesson learned) i had my trunk out, drop offs, lower quarters, inner / outter wheelhousings, rear seat pan !! what a mess.
8. Very important use safety. (goggles, reperators etc. gloves (cutting metal))
9. 66 requires more fabrication of parts (not as widely reproduced stuff) so make sure you take your time when you fabricate stuff and make it structuraly strong too.
10. Have fun, enjoy your car and dont give up even when it seems your never going to finish

Im 2 years into my car and i replaced the trunk pans, gas tank straps, dropoffs, trunk braces, inner/outter wheelwells, axle pan, rear seat pan, body bushings, fabricated cowl patches, welded lower fenders, sanding, wiring... just be patient it will turn out nice if you take your time.

Good luck!

p.s heres my new trunk pictures if your curious im so proud of myself for being 17.
http://home.earthlink.net/~baygentst/Chevelle/

Tom Baygents

Tom, very nice work.

thanks tom I have to replace almost evey peice of sheet metal they make fo a 66

dont weld until ALL! are fitted with screws and marked.dont sand blast or sand then place it at the back of shop to rust away.have seen some great cars ruined this way.

I forgot to mention that a box or two of self tapping screws are very important. YOu can get stuff lined up the way you want it and then pull out 1 screw at a time and fill it in with a plug weld. Works great and is good for pulling stuff together.

Weld slow, in sections, and let it cool, so you avoid warping the new metal. graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Do the job in sections and you'll save some sanity. Many people tear the whole car apart and start working on every single piece at the same time only to be discouraged at the progress which becomes overwhelming. If you do one section at a time you'll see progress as you go which is very rewarding. I usually work on one or two panels at a time, get them in primer and move to the next always thinking ahead and planning my strategy. Have fun. Bob

What panels are you replacing?

The one BIG mistake we made that has taken several dozen hours of extra work to repair was in cutting the old panel right on the body line.

Measure well and then make your cuts on a smooth field area where you can weld the seams and then just grind them smooth and flat. Trying to grind a body line out of a weld line has been a real test of patience and commitment!

Instead of self tapping screws I was told to just use rivets and that had seemed to work good on the floor so far. Then after the whole panel is fitted I welded. But maybe I am doing it wrong.

rivits work too but you have to drill thoes out so i think its more of a pain rather than just easily drilling out the self taping screws. they have a head on them like a nut so you can put a nut driver on the drill and pop them in and out really fast

and it makes good for pulling stuff together nice and tight.

Pesonal preference i think.

Tom

Originally posted by dittoz:
What panels are you replacing?

so far I am replacing the right and left floor, and the two floor pan braces. but I need a whol new trunk, all new 1/4s and that peice behind the back window. and repair the rust in the front windsheild, and the the top of the dash.

for now I have the left floor cut out and almost ready to weld back in

Use a good welding primmer.